The tale of a curious fox who goes in search of an elusive whale. a journey of longing and discovery.

Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Robin Joseph

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I have been working in animation films for a while, doing design and concept...I was always interested in narrative, and the short was an attempt to try something out of my comfort zone. Both technically and narratively it was challenging.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

I would hope the film is open, inviting and the themes are relatable and accessible .

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

The film at it's core, is about curiosity, standing at the fringe and looking forward. Equally it is also about failure, and perhaps a perspective of optimism and willingness to move forward in spite of it. i think that drive is something innately human.

Fox and the Whale

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

The script was a loose logline. The film was fleshed out in storyboards, and iterated over and over till it felt right. There was a close group of friends i trust, and would play it for. Doing that always distances you from the film a bit, and helps give some objectivity. I also did a colorscript once the reel was locked. I stayed pretty close to both the locked reel and colorscript. Staying strict about this, as best as I could, kept the momentum in production moving forward.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Initial feedback so far has been positive. The ending has a level of ambiguity. This was intentional, and it's been nice to see how people have adapted that ending to fit a personal narrative and perspective.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Since the film is still in its festival cycle and a while away from online release, I am not in a place to give a good or complete answer here.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I hope as the film moves through the festival cycle of 2017, more people watch it .

Fox and the Whale

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

I am still looking for press, and journalists interested in writing about the short.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope as many people as possible get to watch it! that's all i can ask for.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

There aren't opposing views in the film. So i don't foresee a debate. As for a conversation, i hope there is a shared feeling of optimism.

Would you like to add anything else?

I would like to talk a bit about the production of the film and my partner and girlfriend Kim Leow. The short film was self financed and produced over a course of 16 months from storyboards to final sound. Kim did all the CG character animation parts. She also modeled and rigged the characters. Originally, the film was conceived to be fully 2d animated. But being around Kim, really opened up the possibilities of looking at CG as an option. I really wouldn't have considered CG characters if it wasn't for her. She is an amazing animator and artist, and in short i was very lucky to have her in my corner..not just for production but also moral support and cheering it on to the finish line!

The film in equal parts was a technical experiment as well. I wanted to see what kind of visual bar we could maintain with a very minimal crew of mostly Kim and myself. My responsibilities were everything else from storyboards, design, backgrounds, 2d anim, vfx, comp and edit. With Kim handling the character animation, it allowed me to focus on all the rest of it. As I mentioned above, my experience prior to this was as a designer. The short film had a lot of technical hurdles in VFX like water, fire, simulations for dust, particles etc..I was worried about attempting these things...but those were also the most exciting parts of the film. The learning curve for me was one of the best parts.

I also wanted to talk about a very generous sound designer, Tim Nielsen. The film had a lot of hiccups during production. Mostly, because we had a difficult year in our personal lives, family and unfortunate timing...to be short, all the unpredictability of life. The picture was locked end of march and due to some very unforeseen circumstances, I lost the sound designer. I was out of finances to purchase a sound library etc. also, incredibly nervous about attempting sound design. Tim came in at the 11th hour and really helped out by loaning me a massive personal sound library and recordings he made over the years. More than that, he was always a phone call away walking me through the technical setups, as I attempted sound design and foley. Everything from buying the best monitors at the budget I had, to calibrating them. I wouldn't have gotten to the finish line without Tim's help!

I really wanted to talk about all this to emphasize that I benefitted from chance and timing working in my favour a great deal in the end, a bit of serendipity is necessary to get these things made!

Fox and the Whale

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

My partner Kim, is continuing work in Toronto as a character animator on an upcoming feature film. I am developing a new project. I am also continuing to work freelance, to get the film through it's festival run in 2017.

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

The tale of a curious fox who goes in search of an elusive whale. a journey of longing and discovery.

Length: 12 minutes 03 seconds

Director: Robin Joseph

Producer: Robin Joseph

Writer: Robin Joseph

About the writer, director and producer:

Robin was born and raised in Kerala, India. He moved to Canada to pursue studying Animation. He has worked as a freelance production designer and concept artist for animated films. Fox and the Whale is his first short film.

The next screenings for the film will start in February 2017. The film is scheduled to play in competition at Oxford Film fest in Mississippi in the US and the youth audience competition at Clermont Ferrand in France. For more festival news you can follow fox and the whale on facebook, instagram or the homepage.